Twelve Days Before Christmas: Zexal Style!
by Heavengiver16
Summary: Inspired by the song "Twelve Days Before Christmas." Christmas is almost here! And it seems like luck is going against Kotori as she struggles to find the gift for Yuma. While things go wrong for her, Astral discovers what Christmas is about. Will Astral aid her in her search? Will she be able to get Yuma's present in time? OCCness and more! Merry Early Christmas!


_Hi guys! My first Yugioh Zexal oneshot! Awesome! This fanfiction is based off of "Twelve Days before Christmas" which my school choir is learning for their holiday concert. I thought of this when I heard it and I thought, "I must put these two together." Well, I better not talk too much, so here it goes. And please, no flaming or burns._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Zexal or the song "Twelve Days before Christmas." _

_**Twelve days before Christmas…**_

Mizuki Kotori was panicking. Badly.

It had been two months since the defeat of Dr. Faker and Yuma's defeat against Kaito. Winter break has finally arrived and she didn't have anything to give for Christmas.

Nothing.

The green-haired girl paced in her room, wondering what to give to all her friends, especially Yuma. It's a bit obvious that she has been developing feelings to the happy, carefree yet courageous duelist, but she often pushed them away. Still, it angered her that "Cat-chan," as Yuma puts it, has been trying to snag his attention.

The thought ticked her off a bit. She searched for her purse and looked into her wallet once she found it. Kotori panicked when she found not a dollar in it. With thoughts of presents running through her head, she flew down the stairs in an attempt to find at least some gift-related things, like wrapping paper, snow globes, anything.

Nothing.

Her mom sat worried, wondering what is the cause of her daughter's sudden burst of speed. Kotori gave a red, panicked face as she tore up her house, trying to figure out what to do.

_Meanwhile with Yuma…_

Yuma stretched his arms to the sky as he walked down a street with Astral hovering over him. Christmas was almost here and he just finished shopping for his sister's Christmas party, which she decided to throw when her manager liked her cover on the Heartland commotion after the WDC.

Astral, seeing all of the decorations and the enormous Christmas tree in the middle of the plaza, still couldn't figure why humans make such a fuss about this time of year. "Yuma?" Said boy looked at the alien with one eye open. "What is this 'Christmas' that everyone seems to be preparing for?" Yuma gave a face that said, "Here we go again."

"Christmas," Yuma started as he did when he's about to lecture Astral, which annoyed the hell out of him once Astral started asking questions one after another, "is a holiday where people go around, buy gifts to their friends and family, and have a good time." Astral then looked at a man who is wearing a red suit and ringing a bell. He's also giving some sort of wrapped package to a little kid.

"Who's that?" The curious blue alien asked. Yuma turned to where his friend is looking. "Oh, that's Santa Claus. He came from the North Pole on his reindeer sleigh and give presents to nice little kids." Unbeknownst to Astral, Yuma was snickering.

Astral smiled. "So, he's a person who flies in the sky, delivering presents to nice little kids. How does he know which kid wants what though?" Yuma felt like he was talking to a five-year old.

"Kids send letters to Santa every year."

"How does he know which kid is naughty or nice?"

"Santa has a huge naughty or nice list he keeps at the North Pole."

"How does these reindeer fly?"

"It's call magic, Astral."

Astral was intrigued that this "Santa" can not only memorize the items kids want, but the name of the kid, the location of their home, and whether they're naughty or nice. "Well you have been a nice little boy, right?" Astral asked with a smirk. Yuma grinned. "Of course I am," he stopped, "Wait…I'M NOT A LITTLE BOY!" Astral's grin grew wider as he observed Yuma trying to cover up his outburst to the surrounding people.

"_Observation #22: Apparently humans have a weird culture, ranging from school to red-suited men who fly with reindeers and keep track of kids and their desires."_

_**Eleven days before Christmas…**_

Kotori rubbed her eyes as she pulled apart the curtains in her room, and discovered that snow started to fall. She gave a loud "Yes!" and hurried down the stairs. She was about to head out the door when she stared down at her pajamas and blushed a bit, before heading up the stairs to change.

Once she was done changing into a white hat, a green coat, some jeans and short, brown, fluffy boots, she once again started to head for the door when a hand poked her shoulder and revealed a stack of money tied in a red ribbon. Kotori looked at her mother and gave her a big hug before stepping out into the snow-covered streets.

_A few hours later_

Kotori groaned under the weight of all the shopping bags her presents came with. Not only did she spend all of the money that her mom gave her, she couldn't find her gift to Yuma. She had gotten Shark mini statues of famous sharks and his sister, Rio, who was in the hospital, a pendent that strangely, resembles Ice Beast Zerofyne. She also got Tetsuo a new skateboard, Tokunosuke some new spy gear, Takashi some brand new notebooks for the new semester, Kari a new camera, and Cathy, to her dismay, a plush kitten. It was tough finding Yuma's, though. Yuma was easy to please, but she wanted something that would make her gift stand out.

She clutched her head as she argued internally over which present she should give, which, in her mind, consists of a new booster pack that just came out, a new and improved duel disk, or a new duel gazer. As she worried herself to death, she didn't realize the blue being that followed her since she arrived at the shopping center.

"_Well it looks like Kotori is in a pinch," he smiled, "Time to see how this Christmas magic works."_

_**Ten days before Christmas…**_

Kotori sneezed as she went down the street after another day of failing to find a gift for Yuma. Trying to hide the next one, she covered her nose with her scarf, but to no avail.

"ACHOO!"

The green-haired girl wiped her nose, feeling a shiver run down her spine. She could not have gotten a cold.

But she did.

Her mother, worried sick about her when she entered home with a big sneeze and the rubbing of fingers, took her to the doctor, and he confirmed that she was, in fact, in worse conditions than they both realized. He prescribed resting in bed and keeping herself warm, in addition to the usual medicine. Kotori groaned as she thought how this came at the perfect time.

_Meanwhile with Astral…_

Astral stared at the scene before him, Yuma helping Kari with her "Congratulation/Christmas" party. Yuma jogged across the room, wrapping presents for his friends or making goodie bags, while Kari made invites.

Astral sensed Kotori's distress the other day and wonder how he could help the girl who can now see him clearly. Just the thought of that made him wonder how much potential Kotori had, or it was just being around Yuma. He observed how she tried her hardest for Yuma, and her motivation seems to revolve around him. Astral was not one to ignore a friend in need of help, but he was clueless on the subject of "presents."

_Back with Kotori…_

Her mom was stubborn. Maybe that's where she got it from.

Kotori was now stuck in bed with a thick blanket on her, and her mom was force-feeding her some herbal tea and toast with jam. Honestly, does that help with her illness? She did not know, but her mom said that it will give her some strength.

And so, Kotori still hadn't got Yuma's gift, and her illness just delayed her some more.

_**Nine days before Christmas…**_

Kotori hung her head up to the ceiling, attempting to not let the blood from her nose fall down to her shirt. Her cold got better, except that she was still coughing and sneezing (although she never thought that toast would work), but she still couldn't go out in the snow (her mother nearly got a heart attack and literally dragged Kotori back to bed). And now, her nose decided to bleed. At least, the green-haired girl could gather her thoughts on what her gift should be.

_With Yuma and Astral…_

Astral stared in disbelief at the scene before him.

Yuma have somehow gotten Shark to have a snowball fight with the rest of his group. He watched as Shark was packing a snowball while giving Yuma a glare. Yuma smiled as he attempt to run while make a snowball. The rest of the gang threw snowballs at each other, but they were careful not to get in Shark's way.

Astral shook his head, recalling how Yuma had attracted the wrath of Shark.

_A few minutes ago…_

_Yuma whistled as he walked down the streets of Heartland City; he had just finished a duel with a classmate, with Yuma winning with 1500 life points left. Kari's Christmas party was almost done with preparations. He was pretty sure that his sister would make him go around and deliver all of the invitations to her guests. _

_Yuma didn't notice where he was going, and he ended up in the park. Once there, he saw his friends building fortresses out of snow and are giving each other glares._

"_Let the snowball fight commence!" _

_They opened fire, and Yuma soon found himself having to dodge snowball after snowball. Astral merely stood there; puzzled by why kids would throw each other balls of snow (Yuma explained it as fluffy frozen water that falls from the clouds). _

_Even with Yuma's amazing luck in dodging all of the snowballs that were fired unintentionally at him, one snowball thrown by Cat-chan got him smack in the face. Yuma's face was covered with snow, making it look like he ran out of the spa. Yuma shook his head, brushing off the snow. "Hey, what's going on?" Yuma asked with an excited, yet slightly annoyed tone. Only then did the snowball throwers notice him._

"_Oh, Yuma! We just started having a snowball fight. Want to join?" Tetsuo asked, throwing a snowball up and down. Yuma gave his usual, energetic smile. "You bet!" he exclaimed. Yuma ran over to Tetsuo's side and picked up some snow to pack. In a minute, the fight was back on, and Yuma was enjoying himself._

_However, when Takashi taunted him, Yuma made the mistake of falling for it and he gave a smirk, packing the snowball in his hand. "I'm going to get you. Kattobingu ore!" and he threw his heavily packed ball of snow. Takashi dodged, and it was at that point when Shark pulled up on his motorcycle. _

_The ball of "fluffy frozen water" hit Shark square in the face._

_Ryoga stood there for a second before giving his glare. He wiped the snow off his face and proceeded to the group who is ignorant to the rage they have set off. _

"_Hey, Yuma! Were you the one who pelt me in the face?!" Yuma turned around and smiled, "Oh, Shark! What are you…?" Ryoga cut him off, "I don't care about that! Who threw a freaking snowball in my face?!" Yuma's friends backed off a bit, calling a truce. Yuma smirked and said, "If I said it was me, what would you do?" _

_Shark fumed. "YUMA!" _

_Shark gathered some snow and tossed it at Yuma, but his target dodged and stuck his tongue out. Shark grew more frustrated and decided that Yuma would not live to see the next day._

"_YUMA! GET BACK HERE!" Said boy just ran around, threw some snowballs at the now enraged Ryoga, and taunted him. And so, that's how that happened._

_Back to present day…_

Astral shook his head at Yuma's stupidity. But there was one thing that was bothering him.

Where was Kotori?

_**Eight days before Christmas…**_

Yuma and Astral strolled through the streets. Astral was amazed on how after being pelted with numerous amounts of snowballs the previous day, Yuma didn't even catch a cold. Yuma said that's his "Kattobingu," but this time, Astral didn't really believe him.

A sudden THUD and a "Hey! What was that for?!" snapped Astral back from his thoughts as he saw Yuma on the ground with a huge bump on his head, Kaito and Orbital 7 standing next to him.

"Sorry. Orbital here must have his circuits frozen." Kaito said. The robot blinked once with his red light and said, "You deserved that, Yuma." Kaito told his robot assistant to apologize, causing the latter to grow a tick mark. "Why should I apologize to him?!" exclaimed Orbital. Yuma grew annoyed, but Kaito quickly solved the problem by giving his signature glare and called Orbital's name again, only in a more threatening voice. Orbital started to sweat and reluctantly said his apologies.

"So, Kaito, what are you doing here?" Astral asked. Kaito turned to the blue alien and replied, "I'm out shopping for Haruto's present. I hadn't had much luck finding a gift." Yuma, overhearing this, shouted, "Why don't I help you find something?" Kaito stared back in disbelief.

"No. Besides, you don't know what Haruto likes." The Photon duelist started to walk off when he was stopped by a Yuma, now in chibi form, hanging onto his arms and crying.

The scene then shifted to a chibi Kaito trying to shake off a crying chibi Yuma, while Orbital 7 and Astral watched the scene in disbelief.

"Kaito-sama!" Orbital started, "Oi! Yuma idiot! Get off him!" The robot then joined in, tugging at Yuma's arm, but the Gagaga duelist had an iron grip. Astral sighed and held his hand at his forehead.

After a while, Kaito reluctantly dragged along Yuma as he headed off to the market. At times, Yuma would hold up a potential gift, only to have it shot down by Kaito. Soon, it was half past six, and Kaito still didn't get anything. It seems like Kaito rejected every single gift suggested by Yuma just so he could get him to leave. Yuma, confused and fed up by Kaito's stubbornness, spoke up.

"Mou, you're so picky, Kaito. Haruto would appreciate anything from you." Those words hit Kaito like an anvil. Yuma then spotted a pendant that was colored oddly like Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon's eyes. Yuma tugged at Kaito's arm sleeves and pointed to it. Kaito's own eyes widened. He rushed off and in a minute, had the pendant in his hand.

"See!" Yuma exclaimed. Kaito just smiled briefly. He then stopped in front of a candy shop filled with assorted sweets. He shoved the pendent to Yuma (who responded with a "Hey!") and ran inside. A few minutes later, he walked out and held a bag with copper squares inside.

"Caramel." Kaito simply stated. Yuma's eyes sparkled a bit, feeling like Kaito has finally taken his words.

As Kaito flew away, Astral sworn he heard a "Thanks, Yuma."

_**Seven days before Christmas…**_

Kotori groaned as her mom stuck a thermometer in her mouth.

After a few seconds, her mom took it out of her mouth, looked at it, and shook her head. The sick girl gave another groan, not wanting to waste another day in bed. After all, she already threw away three days trying to fight her accursed cold.

_With Yuma and Astral…_

Astral strolled alongside Yuma as he groaned about his sister being lazy. Apparently, Yuma's prediction was right, as Kari commanded Yuma that the first thing he did was give everyone the invites.

Yuma tapped some things on his D-gazer and found Kotori to be his next destination. Yuma then remembered something.

"Say, Astral, I wonder what happened to Kotori. I haven't seen her in a while." The hovering Astral being gave a sigh, and Yuma fumed a bit. "It took you this long to notice?" replied Astral. Yuma blinked his eyes. Ignoring his comment, Yuma asked again, "Well, did you have any idea?" Astral shrugged, "Who knows? It's certainly unusual, though."

Yuma ran through the streets of Heartland City, and eventually, he headed up the stairs to Kotori's house. He rang the doorbell, and a woman around her 30s opened the door.

"Oh, Yuma. It's nice to see you. Can I help you with anything?" The woman greeted. Yuma handed her a white envelope with mini poinsettias on the borders. "Here. It's for Kotori. Is she here?" Kotori's mom nodded her head, "She's upstairs in her bed. She got a cold a few days ago." Yuma's mouth formed an "o." "Well, tell her that I said, 'Get well soon' for me." The green-haired mother nodded and politely closed the door.

Yuma then said, "Hope she gets better…" and then headed out to his next destination. Astral flew to the top window and saw the girl in thick blankets and a towel on her head.

"_She'll be okay. She's a strong girl."_ Astral muttered before joining Yuma.

_**Six days before Christmas…**_

Kotori's mom, once again, put the thermometer into her daughter's mouth. After a few seconds, she heard the familiar _BEEP_, and her mother pulled it out and smiled. She showed the temperature at her daughter and Kotori smiled with glee.

"Your cold is gone, Kotori. That's good, but I want to make sure that you won't catch it again," her mother stated. And so, she went down to get some extra clothes for Kotori to wear. As soon as she closed the door, the green-haired girl shouted with joy and jumped out of bed. But unfortunately, luck doesn't want to be on her side, and as she ran towards the door, which was open, she slipped on the rug at the entrance…and fell down the stairs.

Kotori's mom heard a THUD, and rushed over to find her daughter on the floor with tears in her eyes and her legs twisted in a painful position. She quickly grabbed her D-gazer and called the hospital.

_With Yuma…_

A subtle feeling of emptiness hung over Yuma as he walked through the streets, snow falling from the sky. Kotori, to him, was still sick, and he didn't get a response for whether she was coming to his sister's party.

A sudden jolt in his pants grabbed Yuma's attention, and Yuma dug into his pants. He pulled out his D-gazer and answered it without looking at the caller.

"YUMA!"

The mentioned boy jumped and rubbed his ears before snatching his D-gazer, which was falling to the ground, and putting it back on.

"Kari! Don't ever do that!" Yuma's head grew a tick mark. His sister gave an annoyed look. "Well, sorry for disturbing whatever you were doing, but I need to know if Kotori is coming because I have to figure out how many gifts I need to buy. Are you sure she hadn't responded yet?" Yuma narrowed his eyes.

"Nope, didn't get even a call." Kari put her hands on her chin, thinking.

"Well, guess that means she isn't going, right? I'm going to assume that." His sister was about to hang up when she suddenly remembered something.

"Hey, Yuma. I need you to run down to the store and buy some ornaments. Some of them broke." Yuma sighed. "Okay, I got it." Kari smiled before Yuma's D-gazer turned blank.

Yuma started grumbling about lazy sisters and treating him like an errand boy while walking down to the plaza. Once he was there, he bought the cheapest bunch of ornaments he could find and was about to head out when Astral stopped him. He pointed to a red hat with a white fluffy ball on top.

A standard Christmas hat.

"Yuma, may you please buy one of those?" Said boy gave a "huh?" look.

"Why would you want one?"

"It's a gift."

"For who?"

"It is none of your business."

"Of course it's my business. I'm buying this for you. Who is this for?"

"I find this humorous."

"How is this funny?!"

"You're the one asking questions."

Yuma got fed up, but proceeded to buy Astral his hat.

_**Five days before Christmas…**_

Kotori was sped away to the hospital, her twisted leg throbbing. She still had tears in her eyes. As the hospital car rushed through the city, she saw hundreds of stores with hundreds of things on sale and people running back and forth trying to gather all kinds of things. Kotori smiled sadly as she saw little kids playing in the snow.

"_I won't be able to do that for a while," _she thought as she glanced at her knee.

Soon, the hospital came into view, and as soon as they arrived, she was quickly led inside. The doctor saw her leg and decided to give her painkillers while they placed her leg back into the right position.

Kotori never felt so much pain. It stung, it burned, and the painkillers didn't help much.

Meanwhile, her mom held the invite that Yuma gave her the other day. Because of the commotion that was happening, she forgot to inform Kotori about it. But now, knowing that she won't be able to make it (and there's no way she will let her daughter out of the house again), she tossed it into the trash.

_**Four days before Christmas…**_

The next day after her "surgery," Kotori was on crutches, her knee wrapped in a plaster cast. She stumbled as she adjusted to walking. The green-haired girl still needed her present to Yuma, and so she was in the plaza again.

Kotori spent the day, however, knocking down stuff, tripping, and getting insults from shop owners. At the end of the day, she sighed, for she got nothing done…again.

_With Yuma and Astral…_

Yuma was officially confused.

He was staring at Astral looking at his hat. Astral tried multiple times to grab it, but he always pass through it. It was Yuma's turn to shake his head.

After three minutes of this, Yuma decided to speak up. "Astral, do you need any help with that?" The blue being turned to him. "No, Yuma. I just want to put it on my head, like the humans in the market." Yuma sighed and grabbed Astral's hat and tried putting it on his head, but it just fell to the floor.

Both human and alien shook their heads. Why would Astral want a hat, knowing perfectly well that he can't touch anything?

_**Three days before Christmas…**_

Kotori's mom wouldn't let her outside…again. Not that it mattered. It was snowing like hell outside, with the snow covering up to half her first floor window's height. Kotori looked out her window on the second floor and saw plenty of snow on top of the recovering Heartland Tower and the streets. Gray clouds hung over the sky.

It seems that the clouds totally matched the green-haired girl, as she thought about why she couldn't just pick a present for Yuma. She blamed her will to make it special. What's so different about this year? Is it because of Astral? _"No that couldn't be,"_ she thought, but she had to admit that it was Yuma's first Christmas with Astral. Maybe, is it because of the fact that she wanted to get a gift that was for both Yuma and Astral?

A knock interrupted her thoughts, and she turned around to find her mother with a tray of Christmas cookies decorated with red and green frosting and a jug of hot chocolate. Her mom placed the tray on Kotori's desk and gave a smile.

Kotori gave a smile back before heading towards the tray of cookies.

_With Astral…_

His second day at getting that hat onto his head.

No progress.

The Astral envoy sighed as he decided to deal with that later. He floated over to the window, and observed the falling snow and gray clouds.

Astral found the gray clouds disturbing. It felt also like an omen for something bad to come. He knew that the Barians were going to start hitting them head on, now that Dr. Faker was defeated. The blue alien willed himself to be prepared, but he couldn't help but worry about what would happen if his world was destroyed.

A flash of red caught his eyes, and he turned around to find a single invitation to Kari's party on Yuma's desk next to his deck. Thoughts and observations that he made suddenly struck him; images of Kotori's mom, the mention of Kotori being sick, her avoiding Yuma. He had an idea, but it would require his hat. And so, he tried once again to place the hat on his head.

_**Two days before Christmas…**_

Everyone was almost at their wit's end. Except for Kaito (who had everything he needed), Yuma's friends (completely oblivious), and Shark (he still acted like himself).

Astral was clearly frustrated at the fact that he couldn't be solid for a day. His red hat lay on Yuma's hammock, still untouched. Behind him, Yuma was worried about his two best friends. Both became distant, and Yuma felt a pang of loneliness inside. Yuma gripped his emperor key; his worry for his friends powered his wish for everything to be alright. The key glowed yellow, and both Yuma and Astral widened their eyes. Then, Astral glowed a bright blue. A moment later, the flash was gone, and Astral still looked the same. Yuma stared as Astral went to pick up his hat, and he succeeded.

Yuma gave a big smile, and snatched Astral's hat. He stuffed Astral's crazy hair to the best of his abilities into his hat. Astral muttered a "Thank you" before grabbing the lone invite and heading out the window. Yuma continued to grin as suddenly the sky cleared up a bit.

"_It's a Christmas miracle, right?" _Yuma thought.

_With Kotori…_

It was nighttime and Kotori was furiously typing away at her D-gazer, trying to find shops that were still open at this time of day. Most closed already and the ones that were open were either too far away or they had stuff that Kotori didn't need. She sighed as she decided to resign for the night.

She felt horrible for failing to get a gift this year.

Just when she was about to close her eyes, something bright and yellow flashed into her room. Kotori groaned as she woke up to find a familiar being in her bedroom, only he had a red hat on.

"Hello, Kotori." Astral greeted.

The said girl's eyes widened. What in the world is Astral doing here, and how did he know where she lived?

"Astral! What are you doing here?" the girl exclaimed. The Astral envoy gave a chuckle. In his mind, he thought about how silly the idea was, but then again, he experienced a lot of interesting and silly things.

"Being your Santa for a day," he replied and handed her a single envelope. She slightly trembled as she clutched the envelope. As she opened it, Astral started explaining.

"Seeing how you were out of commotion for a while," he started, observing Kotori's plaster covered knees, "you never got the invite for Yuma's party." The hazel-eyed girl looked at the invite, surprised by the fanciness of it.

_Dear Guest,_

_You are formally invited to Kari's and Yuma Tskumo's Christmas party_

_Come join us for a holiday feast filled with joy!_

_Please RSVP as soon as possible to either Kari or Yuma_

_It will be on December 24, 20XX at the Tskumo residence_

_Thank you._

Kotori held unshed tears as she looked back from the invite to the red-hatted Astral. He continued, "I saw you shopping out the other day and saw how much you care about your friends, especially Yuma. It would be horrible," Astral grinned, "for you to have that determination wasted. After all, I think this Christmas is about spending it with people you care about. And you, Kotori, you are one of my friends." The girl gave him one of those smiles that could light up the sky. The clouds parted a bit.

"Thank you, Astral. That means a lot to me." She smiled at the invite.

"Merry Christmas, Astral."

The pretend Santa felt something warm inside of him. It wasn't like eating food, but it was a tingling sensation, like the feeling of…happiness. Pure happiness. He uncrossed his arms and mutter back,

"Merry Christmas, Kotori."

She giggled and patted Astral's hat. "You look good with that." The alien chuckled again.

"Thank you," he said. He turned around and saw the sun rise into the sky. Kotori joined him by her window.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" She muttered. Astral nodded before announcing that he has to return to Yuma. She nodded and replied that his visit won't go to waste. As he left, Kotori's mind felt relieved, now knowing what must be done, but before she could do anything, she suddenly felt sleepy. Before she knew it, she collapsed onto her bed.

_**One day before Christmas…**_

It was a very festive mood.

Bells rang everywhere, people in red and green clothes were catching and playing in the snow, and wreaths decorated Heartland City. The smell of ham filled the senses of people inside.

Kotori moaned and opened her eyes as she heard the repetitive sound of _BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. _Now in a completely annoyed mood, she blindly punched her alarm clock. It fell with a _THUD_ and it immediately stopped. As she rubbed her eyes, Kotori's mind was wrapped on last night's encounter.

"A dream?" she wondered. She turned to her right and saw the white invite on her table.

"Well, I guess not," she murmured. Kotori grabbed it and hugged it to her chest. She was grateful for Astral because she didn't know how simple a gift could be. The green-haired girl ran downstairs and dug into the closet; she successfully found some pink ribbons in the back. As she ran upstairs to prepare her gift, her thoughts were, "I hope I'm not too late."

**Meanwhile with Yuma and Astral…**

Astral was getting worried.

It's already noon, and Kotori was nowhere to be found. All the shops were closed, so she can't do any last minute shopping. He thought he made his advice perfectly clear, unless she didn't get the hint.

That would be the most idiotic thing that could happen.

The alien sighed before turning his attention to the party. Banners was strung everywhere. The guests laughed and chatted in the living room, while some people were outside dueling. Various foods are spread on a wide table near the entrance.

Suddenly, the sound of a door slamming open was heard, and the room quickly grew quiet. Standing at the doorway was Kotori in a green dress with red flower designs, red boots, and a huge pink ribbon on her head. Her hair was not in her usual bun, but instead was let down. She was also on crutches.

Looks like Kotori got the hint.

Astral smiled at the flustered girl and gave a nod. She caught Astral's gaze and responded with a nod of her own. She walked around the room looking for Yuma. The guests stared at her, still shocked by the sudden interruption. Finally, Kotori found Yuma in the back of the house, just finishing off Cat-chan's life points.

"Temtempo, attack her directly!" The drummer started beating its drums, and Cat covered her eyes as her life points fell to zero.

"Alright!" Yuma shouted. Kotori smiled, and clapped at his victory, though it was difficult, since she had to balance herself. The boy turned and, upon looking at the green-haired girl, widened his eyes.

"Kotori? What happened?" He exclaimed as he ran over to check up on her. She gave a nervous smile.

"A lot of things happened. Let's just say that I'll be fine in a few days." Yuma cracked a smile. "Well, in that case, we should open presents now that everyone's here." Kari, who has incredible hearing for some reason, overheard this and immediately headed out to the back of the house. She smacked Yuma upside the head and started scolding him for being impatient. Everyone laughed, including Astral (who only gave a small chuckle). Well, everyone but the obvious (Kaito and Shark).

_Later that day…_

Everyone is now seated in front of the Christmas tree in the living room. Presents were exchanged, and each person was happy with what they got…or at least did a great job hiding their disappointment.

Astral even got some presents, although they were given to Yuma for safekeeping (which wasn't such a good idea since Yuma's room was more crowded than usual, annoying the boy a bit). When everyone has calmed down a bit, they noticed that Kotori didn't have a gift for Yuma, despite the fact that she got gifts for everyone else.

"Neh, Kotori, where's your gift for Yuma?" Tetsuo asked. She gave a slight blush and sat in front of Yuma. The boy gave a slightly confused look, and then panicked a bit when Kotori sat a bit too close to him.

Astral watched the scene with anticipation. Maybe she did get the message…

Kotori started, "To tell you the truth, I didn't know what your gift should be. I tried everywhere but none of the things seems right-" Yuma cut her off; "You know that I'm fine with whatever you give, right?" Kotori smiled, "I know that now. My gift to you might be a little bit battered and a little bit torn, but-"

She hugged Yuma, earning glares from Cat-chan and bursts of outcry from the others. The green-haired girl ignored them and whispered into Yuma's ear, "My gift to you…It is me."

Yuma glowed bright red for a bit before gathering his wits. He hugged Kotori back and said, "Thank you."

Astral smiled with content. He felt happy that he was the one who made this possible. His eyes caught Kotori's and it gave one message:

"Arigato."

He smiled back. Sure, things will get harder from now on, but it's best to enjoy things while they last. And as he turned to the window, he didn't see a single snowflake fall down.

The rest of the night was spent with arguments from Cat and Kotori (it started when Cat-chan ruined the mood), hot chocolate, and pleasant conversions.

When people started leaving, Kotori was in no position to move, so Yuma decided to walk her back to her house. As they headed to Kotori's house, Yuma often had to catch the handicapped girl, since they were sharing the sidewalk, and there wasn't much space for Kotori to walk. She would always thank him, and he would smile back in return.

By the time they got there, it was 10 P.M. and the only light they had was the few streetlamps that were scattered around.

"Thank you, Yuma. I'm sorry I couldn't get you a better gift." He shook his head. "No, this present was just as good as getting a booster pack. After all, I get to spend a special day with my friends." He gave a goofy smile. "Have a Merry Christmas, Kotori."

She grinned and hugged him again for the second time. He scratched his cheek before hugging back.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Yuma." Kotori replied.

They pulled apart, and after an exchange of good-byes, they headed their separate ways.

At Yuma's house, Astral thought back to today's events. He still had that hat on him (since it would be impossible to put it on again), and he was currently watching Kari clean up.

All of Yuma's friends seem to be happy. Even Kaito's and Shark's mood seemed to lighten up a bit.

In his mind, Astral documented another piece of information into his head.

"_Observation #23. The true meaning of Christmas isn't just about gifts. It's about being with people who care about you, and enjoying life…"_

He stared out the window again. Small rays of moonlight gleamed on the snow-covered streets. Astral closed his eyes and finished his observation.

"_It's about giving hope."_

**Fin.**

_A.N- And done. Did you guys enjoy it? I certainly had a fun time writing this. Please excuse me if some of the characters are OCC. I tried my best to keep them close to their personalities, but some, like Astral, had to be shifted a bit. Be sure to leave a review. Also, please no flames or burns. _


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